San Diego County Government

David Janssen, the leading candidate to become the chief administrative officer of the Los Angeles County government, has seen government from both sides: the academic theory and the bare-knuckle reality. He holds a doctorate in political science from UC Davis and got his first governmental management job in the sometimes chaotic administration of former Gov. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr.

It is the flimsiest of greenhouses, just sheets of plastic wrapped over a simple frame of two-by-fours to protect the chrysanthemum seedlings sprouting inside. But this community flower-growing venture and other initiatives like it in southern Mexico could help slow the massive illegal migration to the United States. The goal is to provide Mexican peasants with good jobs so they can afford to stay home. With the help of Mexican and U.S.

In a landmark ruling for cash-poor counties across California, a Superior Court judge Monday declared that the formula the state uses for distributing property-tax money has unconstitutionally shortchanged San Diego County for more than a decade. If upheld, the ruling would bring major cash increases to counties that taxed and spent conservatively before the 1978 passage of Proposition 13, pulling the money from counties such as Los Angeles that spent more. Judge Michael I.

Nearly two years after becoming law, standardized testing for ocean pollution at California's beaches is still not being done, blocked in part by health officials in Orange and San Diego counties who say they are not convinced the more stringent standards are necessary to protect the public's health. The testing program at the state's beaches was supposed to be implemented April 1, but the dispute has held up even agreement on what those regulations should be.

With the county mired in seemingly endless budget crises and scored by the county grand jury for losing millions of dollars annually to welfare fraud, it is difficult to remember a time when San Diego County government was more ripe for change. All the contenders for the open seats on the Board of Supervisors promise a shake-up. But only two are up to the task.

Top officials in San Diego County have been talking a lot lately about getting more attention in the state capital, where 120 legislators, a few dozen appointed administrators and the governor annually decide the county's fiscal fate. So it was with some excitement and more than a little optimism that the county made plans to fly all five members of the Board of Supervisors and the two highest-ranking appointed officials here for 24 hours of lobbying and socializing with the powers that be.

For local governments and institutions in San Diego County, the first half of the 1985-86 legislative session ended with the usual mix of tears and laughter. On its major legislative goals, the county was no better or worse off than when the session began. A complex package to clean up sewage that flows into the southwestern part of the county across the Mexican border stalled in the Senate after passing the Assembly, setting the stage for an election-year debate.

Nearly two years after becoming law, standardized testing for ocean pollution at California's beaches is still not being done, blocked in part by health officials in Orange and San Diego counties who say they are not convinced the more stringent standards are necessary to protect the public's health. The testing program at the state's beaches was supposed to be implemented April 1, but the dispute has held up even agreement on what those regulations should be.

When Orange County went bankrupt three years ago this weekend, there was excited talk about turning the beleaguered county government into a "laboratory" for radical change. Hire an executive from the private sector to whip the bureaucracy into shape, experts said. Run government like a business. Sell county assets such as the airport, landfills and perhaps even the jails. Orange County government is a different place today from what it was before Dec. 6, 1994.

A program designed to improve and standardize testing for ocean pollution remains snarled in a bureaucratic dispute 20 months after California lawmakers enacted it. Environmentalists say the delay means that those who swim in the ocean near storm drains may not be warned about exposure to bacterial pollution, which can cause colds, rashes, diarrhea, ear infections and other ailments.

A program designed to improve and standardize testing for ocean pollution remains snarled in a bureaucratic dispute 20 months after California lawmakers enacted it. Environmentalists say the delay means that those who swim in the ocean near storm drains may not be warned about exposure to bacterial pollution, which can cause colds, rashes, diarrhea, ear infections and other ailments.

When Orange County went bankrupt three years ago this weekend, there was excited talk about turning the beleaguered county government into a "laboratory" for radical change. Hire an executive from the private sector to whip the bureaucracy into shape, experts said. Run government like a business. Sell county assets such as the airport, landfills and perhaps even the jails. Orange County government is a different place today from what it was before Dec. 6, 1994.

David Janssen, the leading candidate to become the chief administrative officer of the Los Angeles County government, has seen government from both sides: the academic theory and the bare-knuckle reality. He holds a doctorate in political science from UC Davis and got his first governmental management job in the sometimes chaotic administration of former Gov. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown Jr.

With the county mired in seemingly endless budget crises and scored by the county grand jury for losing millions of dollars annually to welfare fraud, it is difficult to remember a time when San Diego County government was more ripe for change. All the contenders for the open seats on the Board of Supervisors promise a shake-up. But only two are up to the task.

In a landmark ruling for cash-poor counties across California, a Superior Court judge Monday declared that the formula the state uses for distributing property-tax money has unconstitutionally shortchanged San Diego County for more than a decade. If upheld, the ruling would bring major cash increases to counties that taxed and spent conservatively before the 1978 passage of Proposition 13, pulling the money from counties such as Los Angeles that spent more. Judge Michael I.

Top officials in San Diego County have been talking a lot lately about getting more attention in the state capital, where 120 legislators, a few dozen appointed administrators and the governor annually decide the county's fiscal fate. So it was with some excitement and more than a little optimism that the county made plans to fly all five members of the Board of Supervisors and the two highest-ranking appointed officials here for 24 hours of lobbying and socializing with the powers that be.